2011 Reflection

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…”. As a church family we have been an eyewitness to God’s abundance is 2011! As I spend this closing day of 2011 reflecting I do so with absolute amazement.

I think back over the year and there is so much to be thankful for – we have seen so much Life Change!! We have seen a great number of people trust Christ and follow Him in baptism. In fact, I remember one Sunday when a mother was baptized and the daughter came to me after the service and said, “I need to be saved”. The number of young men who have been baptized in 2011 was also a thrill to see.

We witnessed an unprecedented number of people helped through our benevolence ministry and our food pantry. We are averaging approximately 25 families each time our food pantry is open. Our church family responded with tremendous generosity for our Thanksgiving outreach. Then through the Wise Men Gift Exchange we helped 380 children receive Christmas gifts – that is a staggering number!

On a couple of occasions I have said publicly that what has thrilled me more than anything this year was the number of students we were seeing attend Christian Universities. I just saw yesterday on Facebook that one of our students was sharing how excited they were to begin their college career at Palm Beach Atlantic in just a couple days. We have also had a few already register for the Fall. Next year we will probably have at least 12 of our students in Christian Universities. Also, we have a number of outstanding young people shining the light of Christ on the campuses of public universities. The words I have just shared thrill me beyond description!!!

My heart is full of gratitude as I think about how our church has invested their financial resources for the furtherance of the kingdom. It is a very difficult economy in Palm Coast and yet our people give with incredible generosity. The last few years the economy has declined and yet our giving as a church has increased each year. The final numbers are not in but it appears that we have surpassed our Christmas offering goal by about $5,000. This will allow us to to have our newly donated baby grand piano delivered and tuned in the next couple weeks. I am still amazed at the piano donation – I can’t wait for us to worship with our new addition.

I have only scratched the surface of God’s blessings! Let me add just a few quick hits on some other blessings: We are blessed with some incredible leaders – I watched them lead through difficulty and seek to honor God in all we do. Our staff give 110% and continue to empower others to reach their God-potential. Many of our volunteers serve with such love and faithfulness! Our auditorium expansion was a massive blessing and one of the reasons that we have added so any people in recent months.

Please join me in giving God the glory for all He has done! I take you back to the passage that I opened this letter with and remind us that it is He who has done exceedingly abundantly! Please take a moment right now in prayer and give God the glory!

One last thing before I close – it is going to be a tremendous weekend at Parkview!! We have a couple of very special people who are going to be sharing in the services. I mentioned them earlier in this email and you won’t want to miss hearing from them!

Just a reminder to enjoy your New Years Eve and don’t forget that tomorrow we will have our regularly scheduled services at 9:30 & 11am.